MovieChat Forums > Steve Jobs (2015) Discussion > Stolen joke

Stolen joke

posted 9 years ago by helena_2
16 replies | jump to latest

Re the following exchange:

"Andy Hertzfeld:
We're not a pit crew at Daytona. This can't be fixed in seconds.

Steve Jobs: You didn't have seconds, you had three weeks. The universe was created in a third of that time.

Andy Hertzfeld: Well, someday you'll have to tell us how you did it."

This is a steal from the musical, "1776." John Adams is ranting about how long Jefferson is taking to write the Declaration of Independence, and Jefferson responds as above.

At least give credit where credit is due.

[–] helena_2 9 years ago

Here's the original dialogue from the play and movie, "1776," written by Peter Stone:

[Adams has barged into Jefferson's room, accompanied by Franklin, to read the results of Jefferson's work on the Declaration of Independence]

John Adams: Well, is it written yet? Well, you've had a whole week, man. Is it done? Can I SEE IT?

[with his violin bow, Jefferson picks up and hands Adams a discarded draft]

John Adams: "There comes a time in the lives of men when it becomes necessary to advance from that subordination in which they have hitherto rem-"... This is terrible. Where's the rest of it?

[Jefferson indicates dozens of rejected drafts strewn crumpled about his floor]

John Adams: Do you mean to say that it is not yet finished?

Thomas Jefferson: No, sir. I mean to say that it's not yet begun.

John Adams: Good god! A whole week! The entire earth was created in a week!

[Jefferson turns to face him]

Thomas Jefferson: Someday, you must tell me how you did it.

John Adams: Disgusting.

[–] McGavin_the_Shooter 9 years ago

Yeah that's pretty blatant unless that scene happened in real life.

I don't want Fop, Goddammit! I'm a Dapper Dan man!

[–] axellennox 9 years ago

Aaron Sorkin is a thief and a shameless liar. He made Jobs a double-edge sword turns out to be a God. And stupid people eat it up just like that.

[–] SteverB 9 years ago

I didn't get that at all. Jobs was an a-hole at the beginning of the movie and still an a-hole at the end, only slightly, VERY slightly redeemed by the presence of his daughter and her tacit forgiveness of Jobs for being such a useless piece of humanity to her all her life. The most pivotal scene of the film for me was when Wozniak asks Jobs what he does. Jobs wasn't a programmer or an inventor or a designer; he stole other people's ideas and made them his own. If anyone was the "thief and shameless liar", it was Jobs. Sorkin is WAY down the list.

[–] jimlarose1 9 years ago

So, did you want them to stop the movie to say "oh, that came from 1776"?

[–] helena_2 9 years ago

Yes.

Seriously, they shouldn't have stolen it in the first place.

[–] davidg-96373 9 years ago

Don't assume the film maker stole it, Jobs may have actually said it after hearing it himself somewhere.

[–] dsmith147-1 9 years ago

Sorkin wrote the same joke in the season four premier of The West Wing:

BRUNO
Wait till the debates. Elections in six weeks, Mr. President. The world was created in a lot less time.

BARTLET
Well, one day I'll buy you a beer and you'll tell us all how you did it.

[–] dextertrax 9 years ago

It's not the most original joke of all time; plenty of room for independent 'discovery'.

I have to return some videotapes.

[–] IMDb-Rot_in_Hell 9 years ago

Look, ANOTHER complete and utter moron on IMDb message boards who doesn't know he's a moron. Getting sick of seeing these.

[–] Nobody-27 9 years ago

As much as I absolutely hate this film and it's verbal diarrhea that passes for dialogues, I must say here that the scene actually happened. Steve Jobs did use that argument "Universe was created in a week" (or "universe was created in third of that time") at least once.

[–] timbob-478-937623 9 years ago

i just saw the movie reviewed on 60 Minutes and they mentioned that the dialogue is roughly 3 times as long as a normal film, and the actress (maybe Kate Winslet?) stated that EVERY single word had to be uttered in an EXACT method or the ENTIRE film would be ruined, and she stated that even a slight pause in the dialogue would have ruined he entire script. Give me a break Kate.
Anyhow, I won't pay to see it, I'll wait for a few years till it comes on TV. Fassbender was pretty good in Inglorious Basterds so it will be worth the wait.

[–] Nobody-27 9 years ago

Give me a break Kate.

Amen.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Thomasina 9 years ago

This is a steal from the musical, "1776." John Adams is ranting about how long Jefferson is taking to write the Declaration of Independence, and Jefferson responds as above.

At least give credit where credit is due.

I think Aaron Sorkin is giving credit with this--he's crediting the audience's intelligence. He assumes we will get the reference, which we did.

Sorkin was a musical theater major in college, and has ever since packed his playscripts and screenplays with references to musicals. Here is a post that outlines a bunch of references to musicals in just one of Sorkin's TV shows, The Newsroom: http://www.crazytownblog.com/crazytown/2012/08/the-newsroom-musical-theatre-references-1.html

This is not even to mention the dozens of references to the works of Gilbert & Sullivan that Sorkin has dropped in his movies, plays, and shows http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0815070/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm#trivia

"They're all about duty": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk5NwLr3OmQ

[–] ABBAcat 9 years ago

I've heard this one before too, but I'm sure it was from another Sorkin production. It wasn't The West Wing because I never watched that show. Had to have been The Newsroom or The Social Network. Anyway, it's a clever come-back to that universe example even if unoriginal. I'd use if given the set-up.

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